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Originally Posted by Eric H
Matt, where's your time machine? that chassis looks brand new!!
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Eric, I got lucky on this one. I'm only the second owner of the set. It came from the estate of a fairly wealthy Detroiter named Walter Briggs. He founded Briggs Manufacturing, a company that made, among many other things, bodies for Ford and several other automobile manufacturers from the early 1900's until the 1950's. For you antique car people out there, yes, this is the same Briggs that is referred to in regards to the Ford Model 'A' Briggs Fordor or Briggs Town Car. Briggs built a large percentage of the Ford "Woody" station-wagon bodies.
Briggs also owned the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1920 (with a partner until 1935 when he took full ownership) until 1956 (which, due to the time it took to settle his estate, is 4 years
after he died). He of course was the Tigers owner when they won the series in '45. He built Detroit's first real baseball park, Briggs Stadium (renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961).
Because of it's unique owner, radio buffs may be interested in the radio call letters assigned to the radio pushbuttons on the set (see attached picture).
The set was pretty clean when I got it. However I did disassemble it completely during the restoration process. Every component that was not replaced was cleaned. I now wish that I had re-plated the chassis. Oh well! Maybe in my next life!
-Matt